New Craze
by ExtremeSaucicity
Summary: AU. Austin just doesn't understand the bubble tea craze, but hey, maybe the cute girl working behind the counter can help him out.


A/N: Teresa, you are the _worst_. How can you just give me a prompt with "bubble tea" and "Austin has to drink taro"?! Nothing else? I had practically nothing to work with here! Sorry if this sucks major butt. I tried. I TRIED. (If you don't like this, I'm going to strangle you. It's your goddamn prompt that did me in, okay?)

LOL, remember when we met Ross Lynch and Laura Marano together and we were in hysterics? But looked adorable anyway because we wore complimentary dresses? LOL.

Happy birthday, bitch. LOVE YOU. Hugs and kisses.

And shout-out to Miss-Rainy-Skies, for putting up with my constant whining and for contributing so much to Teresa's one-shot. You keep me sane and give me the will to continue writing, you beauteous mammal. Hugs and kisses to you, too.

* * *

Ally had expected a relatively slow morning while working at Bubble Planet, but this was insane; not a single soul had walked through the door in nearly an hour.

She watched a few high school students walking along the sidewalk and groaned when they completely ignored the establishment. Bubble Planet was a fairly new boba tea place and while it did well enough during most evenings and weekends, it tended to struggle in the early mornings.

Ally was in the middle of trying to get rid of a particularly annoying kink in her neck when she finally heard the sweet sound of somebody walking through the door. She stopped rolling her neck and straightened up, eyes snapping wide open.

A tall, annoyed looking blond boy walked up right up to the counter and stood there, not looking any more pleased.

"Hello, there!" she greeted with a polite smile, trying to sound upbeat despite his discouraging look. "Welcome to—"

"Okay, so here's the deal," he interrupted with an impatient sigh, fixing her with a flat, unimpressed stare as he slammed his palms on the counter and leaned in toward her conspiratorially.

Ally blinked in rapid succession, suddenly startled and confused. "Um. Okay?" Her eyebrows furrowed as she waited for him to continue.

He gave her an inquisitive look. "So this whole bubble tea thing? It's suddenly a _thing_?" he asked in a low voice. He sounded downright suspicious as he narrowed his eyes at her.

Her eyebrows knitted together even further. "Um. You can't just say 'thing' in two different tones and expect me to fully understand what you're trying to say..."

The blond rolled his eyes and sighed. "I don't get it. Everybody's been raving about this bubble tea shit and, like, why? It's some sort of milky tea? And then at the bottom, there are _chewy balls? _God, that sounds _awful_. Why is this popular? Why are people drinking this?" he demanded fervently as he stared at her with an incredulous frown.

Her jaw dropped to form a perfect little 'o' at his description of boba and her eyes widened in horror. She tried valiantly to fight the heat in her cheeks as she swallowed nervously. "It's... you're making it much more inappropriate... than it has to be," she said uncomfortably, coughing a bit.

"Yeah?" he challenged. "And how would you describe it?"

"Well," she started slowly, "um, they're tapioca pearls, technically. And while, yes, they're a bit chewy, the center's naturally sweet and... um, the outside's soft?" She winced at her own horrible description and flashed him a nervous smile.

He stared unblinkingly at her. "That was terrible. Don't you know how to sell your own product?" he said after a beat.

"I was nervous!" she protested. And then she sighed before chewing on the corner of her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Okay, so it seems like the boba part is what's freaking you out, right?" she asked as she looked at him.

"Are those the balls?" He blinked.

"Oh my god," she squeaked, face palming at his question. "_Yes_, they're the..." she muttered and she couldn't bring herself to say it so she just gestured about in a pained sort of way.

"Then yeah, that's the part that's freaking me out."

She sighed and determinedly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Okay, so... don't focus on that part. I mean, they're going to go into every drink, right? Let's just pick a flavor that you'll hopefully like." And then she smiled encouragingly at him. Her smile widened when she saw him visibly relax at her suggestion.

He nodded contemplatively. "Sounds good," he said with a small smile.

She tapped a finger to her chin and studied the menu board hanging on the wall to her right. "Hm. Well, some popular flavors are honeydew and taro. Thai tea is also a favorite." She turned to him. "What sounds good to you?"

He shrugged, suddenly looking overwhelmed with all the different combinations and flavors. "I have no idea," he muttered, furrowing his brow in thought. He scratched his head and looked at her. "Which flavors do you like?" he asked her curiously.

She quirked her lips to the side and tilted her head in thought. "Um. Mango's pretty good, and I like strawberry and ooh! I love passion fruit!" she smiled.

The blond looked at her skeptically and he slowly removed his hands from the counter. "Passion fruit?" he repeated doubtfully, straightening up. "Is that even a real fruit? Or are you trying to seduce me here?"

A beat passed as Ally processed his words with a mild look of horror marring her features.

"How about we pick a less suggestive sounding fruit, then?" she deadpanned as she schooled her expression.

"You pick for me," he suddenly said, smiling at her slyly.

She blinked at him and shot him a nervous smile. "Oh, I don't know about that," she said uncertainly. "I don't think that's a good idea."

His eyebrows shot up playfully. "Why not? Do your taste buds not work or something?" he snickered jokingly.

Ally stared at him flatly. "They work just fine, thank you very much."

"Then I don't see the problem here," he laughed with a shake of his head.

She nibbled on her her bottom lip for a second. "Well, taro is sweet, but not overly so, and it's a different flavor and since boba is already new to you, you may as well try a flavor you've never heard of before, right?" She grinned at him.

He regarded her thoughtfully, eyes boring in hers, for a full moment. Just as her grin was about to falter, he finally said, "Go for it."

Ally let loose a chuckle of relief and nodded. "Okay. Regular or large?"

"Regular."

She grabbed a cup from the stack and picked up a black marker. "And your name?" she asked, smiling up at him.

"Austin," he answered as he shot her a winning grin.

Ally chose to ignore his undeniable charm because if she had been a lesser girl, she probably would have swooned. So instead, she focused on writing his name neatly on the cup, turning around to make it. "It'll be just a moment," she called over her shoulder.

"Cool." He waited patiently as he drummed his fingers along the counter, watching her work. He frowned as he looked around the empty place. "Are you the only one here?" he asked.

"Yeah," she sighed. "My co-worker's shopping at the mall across the street. It's usually slow enough in the mornings that we only really need one person." She rolled her eyes even though she knew perfectly well that Austin couldn't see her. "She told me to give her a call if we somehow become magically busy."

He frowned and furrowed his brows. "I thought this place was pretty busy? Since bubble tea is the new craze or whatever."

"It is, but more so in the evenings and on the weekends. Today's just especially slow for whatever reason," she sighed dejectedly. "I think it's because Tea Lips does pretty well and it's a few blocks over. We're also a lot newer than Tea Lips."

"Damn," he muttered. "Maybe I should have gone over there..."

"Hey!" the brunette exclaimed, throwing him an offended glare over her shoulder.

Austin held up his hands in defense and laughed. "Just kidding!"

Ally bit back a grin as she shook her head. Finally done making his drink, she walked back to the counter and slid the sealed cup toward him with a flourish and a chipper smile. "Enjoy!" And then she remembered his whole rant about boba and added nervously, "... Hopefully."

Austin looked at her and grabbed a thick straw, twirling it around his fingers absent-mindedly. He pursed his lips in thought, staring at the cup filled to the brim with the lavender liquid. "Well, here goes nothin'," he muttered as he stopped mid-twirl to dramatically stab the straw into the cup and take a long drink.

Ally watched him anxiously with wide eyes. As he continued drinking without stopping or saying a word, her eyes widened further and she started gnawing on her bottom lip, her anxiousness building steadily.

Austin finally removed the straw from his lips and stared at the drink. He looked up at her and sighed. "Maybe I should have gone to Tea Lips, after all..."

"Oh," she flinched at his words. Her face crumpled and her shoulders sagged. "Well, um. I'm sorry—"

"Psych!"

Ally jumped and watched him continue to drink his taro bubble tea, blinking rapidly.

"This is actually really good!" he laughed. And then he proceeded to make exaggerated chomping noises as he gnashed on the tapioca pearls between his teeth. "These things are so fun to eat!" He took another long sip and happily chomped away on the boba, the noises never ceasing.

"Aw, yay! Well, I'm glad your very first boba experience wasn't terrible!" Ally cheered, feeling relieved. She couldn't help but laugh at his childlike wonder as he enjoyed his drink. She hated to admit it, but he was pretty cute.

He smiled at her. "So how much do I owe ya?" he asked, setting down his drink and reaching for his wallet.

"It's on the house," she smiled back.

Austin looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

Ally nodded. "Well, I wasn't about to make you pay if you had hated it! It's fine. I never rung it up anyway," she laughed.

His eyebrows furrowed. "You don't seem like the type to just... hand out free drinks," he said slowly as he studied her with a thoughtful expression.

She winced sheepishly and sighed. "Um, actually, I was just going to put money in the register after you left..." she admitted with a nervous chuckle.

His eyebrows shot up. "You were going to pay for my drink?" he asked tonelessly.

"Well, yeah..." she mumbled, shifting uncomfortably.

Austin rolled his eyes. "How much do I owe you?" he asked again, this time looking at her pointedly.

"Three ninety-five," she sighed.

He shook his head and handed her a five, but there was a smirk gracing his features.

"Well, I tried," she sighed dramatically with a shrug. She rung up his drink and started counting out his change.

"I, uh, appreciate the gesture, though," he said gratefully as his eyes softened at her. "Thank you, but I wasn't about to let some cute girl pay for my drink." And then he smirked at her in a wolfish manner.

Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped all of his change on the floor. Her cheeks flushed and she tried to stutter out some semblance of a thank you that never quite made it past her lips. Instead, she quickly dropped his change into his palm and managed to squeak out, "Here you go!" At this point, she had grown even more flustered and her cheeks were flaring ever hotter.

Austin watched her nervous display and laughed heartily as he pocketed the money. "Are you always this jumpy?" he asked affectionately, eyes shining with delight.

"Probably, yeah," she admitted under her breath with an embarrassed pout.

Austin chuckled and ducked his head for a moment. He picked up his drink and saluted her with it in hand. "I'll see you around, yeah?" he said with a soft smirk.

She bit her lip and nodded at him. "Of course! You're going to have to try all the flavors at some point, right?" she asked cheekily with a smirk.

"Sounds like a plan," he shot back jokingly as he left.

Ally watched him go, unable to stop the deliriously happy grin stretching its way across her face. She couldn't stop her heart skipping a beat as he waved at her through the window, either.

_Well, this has certainly been an interesting morning..._

* * *

A few days came and went, and Ally was beginning to forget all about her encounter with Austin. She didn't mind too terribly. Sure, he was pretty cute and quite crush-worthy, but she had never really been boy-crazy, anyway.

Really, she wasn't disappointed... for the most part.

But on yet another slow morning, she couldn't help but wish that somebody interesting would walk through the door. She sighed and cupped her chin in her hands, elbows propped up on the counter, staring absent-mindedly out the window. She checked the clock on the wall and saw that it wasn't even noon, realizing that teenagers in the area were probably just now getting up and ready for the day.

And of course, her co-worker had disappeared yet again, leaving her to hold down the fort.

God, this was depressing, she thought to herself as she blew a strand of hair off her forehead.

She turned around and eyed the area disdainfully. It was entirely spotless because she'd tried killing some time by cleaning up earlier. The brunette crossed her arms in a huff, and continued examining every square inch of the tidied up space, secretly hoping that she'd find something that needed to be cleaned or better yet, just something to _do_.

She gave up and turned back to the front of the store, about to start counting straws just for the heck of it, when she suddenly found herself staring into a particularly muscular chest. She blinked rapidly and her eyes floated up a few inches to meet the amused, brown eyes of—

"Austin?"

"Hey!" the blond greeted, looking at her fondly. "Wow, you look really, _really_ bored," he laughed good-naturedly.

Ally nodded. "It's because I really, _really_ am," she replied with a small laugh, matching his tone.

Austin looked at her pityingly. "Another slow day, huh?"

She sighed and nodded again. "Yep! And my co-worker has ditched me... _again_," she mumbled with a roll of her eyes. But she brightened at his chuckle and she smiled at him. "So," she started with a curious tone, "you ready to try a new flavor today?"

And then he suddenly took on a guilty expression. "Yeah, but hold on. I kinda... have a confession to make."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Oh-kay," she said slowly.

He inhaled deeply and locked gazes with her. "I went to Tea Lips the other night," he sighed dramatically.

Ally played along and gave a melodramatic gasp, wearing a look of shocked horror. "You traitor!" she declared, doing her best to hold back a laugh.

He played along, nodding solemnly. "I know. I know! But I swear, it'll never happen again! I vow to stay faithful to Bubble Planet," he swore, clutching at his chest earnestly.

Ally shook her head and laughed at his dramatic display. "So how was it?" she finally asked. "I've heard it's pretty good. But I get discounted boba drinks here, so I've never tried."

Austin wrinkled his nose and gave a one shouldered shrug. "It was okay," he admitted. "I ordered the taro over there so I could compare."

"And what was your final verdict?" she asked, holding her breath and pausing for effect.

"I don't think I'm coming back anytime soon."

She winced at his comment. "Wow, that bad?" she asked with a wry smile.

"Weeell," he said slowly, dragging the word out. "It really wasn't that bad... but let's just say Bubble Planet has a better reason for me to keep coming back," he finished with a devilish smirk.

She tilted her head at him innocently. "What, was their boba especially gritty or something?"

He arched an eyebrow and his smirk widened. "I meant _you_," he murmured, a hint of amusement lacing through his soft tone.

Ally gave a startled gasp and blinked rapidly, color quickly filling her cheeks. "Oh," she mumbled embarrassingly.

He grinned at her and watched her quietly until she faltered under his gaze. Her eyelids fluttered slightly and she cleared her throat, willing her blush to calm down.

Feeling under pressure from his gaze, she averted her eyes and focused solely on the cash register, finally asking, "So, uh, what would you like to drink?"

Austin laughed and shook his head. He turned his gaze to the menu board and after a few minutes of silent contemplation, he turned to her with an incredulous expression. "How the hell is anybody supposed to make up their minds? There's, like, a million different options." He waved a hand toward the board in an annoyed manner. "Like, you can mix yogurt into these things, too? And then there's... jelly? What?"

Ally couldn't help but chuckle at his exasperation from the many different combinations. "You're just over-thinking it!" she grinned with a playful roll of her eyes.

"I've never been very decisive, either," he admitted with a sigh and he ran his fingers through his blond hair. She bit her lip to keep from snickering but he obviously heard her, since he turned around to face her with a bemused quirking of his brow. "I'm glad you find me trying to order a drink funny," he said flatly.

She stopped and had the decency to look at least a little sheepish. "Sorry," she said before she grinned at him again. "Just... pick whatever sounds good to you," she suggested with a shrug. "C'mon, surely you must know what some of those fruits are," she teased, alluding to his confusion over the passion fruit his last visit.

With the utmost seriousness, he then deadpanned, "What's a mango?"

Without skipping a beat, she replied in a tone that matched his, "It's a tropical fruit native to the Indian subcontinent."

He cracked a smile and said, "Glad to know."

"Glad to inform you," she shot back smoothly with a toothy grin. She turned to look at the menu again, pursing her lips in thought. "There's gotta be something on that menu for you."

"Hm-mm," he hummed in absent-minded agreement, causing her to turn back to him.

Much to her surprise, she caught him staring at her and he coughed and quickly whipped his head to the left, focusing on the menu as he reached up to scratch at his neck nervously.

"So, uh, let's just get the taro again," he mumbled, slowly turning back to face her with a sheepish grin.

She bit back a grin at his sudden nervousness and decided to let his staring slide. An eyebrow quirked upward and she regarded him bemusedly. "You sure about that? You sounded hesitant."

He rolled his eyes, but a playful grin reappeared on his features. "Then you pick a flavor!" he challenged. "Go ahead and surprise me!"

She rolled her eyes, about to protest, but immediately realized the perfect flavor and grinned at him instead. "Okay, fine. Regular or large?"

"Regular," he answered, pulling out his wallet.

She rang him up and scrawled his name across the top of the cup, turning around to make it. "Just give me a few minutes," she said as she shot him a smile over her shoulder.

"Take your time," he replied with a nonchalant wave of his hand. He grabbed a straw out of the small bucket near the cash register and twirled it around his fingers while he waited.

Ally finished the drink and came back to the counter in record time, setting it in front of Austin's curious gaze. "There you go!" she grinned, gesturing to it with a flourish.

He picked it up and squinted at it. "What flavor is it?" he asked, stabbing a straw through the sealed plastic. He took a tentative sip.

"For the record, passion fruit is _actually_ a real fruit," she deadpanned, pointing at his drink.

He paused his drinking. "Is it?" he asked with a bemused smirk.

She rolled her eyes but the corners of the lips twitched into a soft smile. "Well? How do you like it?" she asked patiently.

"It's pretty sweet, but not bad!" he grinned his approval at her and then, just like the last time, started noisily chewing on his boba. "_Gnar gnar gnar._"

Ally gave a small, amused snort of laughter. He paused and looked at her, wide-eyed. "No, uh, please, continue," she coughed lightly, hiding her smile behind her small fist. He eyed her curiously with a tilt of his head and she faltered under his gaze. "It's, um... it's cute," she mumbled, blushing at her own confession.

He smirked at her and his eyes lit up excitedly. "You think I'm cute." It came out as more of a stated fact, making him sound downright smug.

She opened and closed her mouth, squirming uncomfortably. "That's not what I meant," she managed weakly.

Austin laughed heartily. "Whatever you say," he grinned. And then he gave a startled blink as the sound of a vibrating phone sounded through the store. "Sorry," he mumbled with a roll of his eyes, pulling it out and checking the text message. "I have to go. My friend, Dez, is waiting. I should go before he thinks I've been attacked by zombie cockroaches," he said seriously.

Ally blinked. "Um. Your friend sounds like quite the character."

"He is," Austin sighed wryly. But Ally could hear a touch of fondness in his voice.

He started walking toward the door but stopped before he pulled it open, turning around to look at her over his shoulder. "I'll stop by again in a few days," he promised with a smile.

Ally chuckled at his promise. "Okay, bye, Austin!" she said with a friendly wave.

He exited with one final wave and she watched him until she could no longer see him through the windows. She sighed heavily, knowing that soon enough, feelings of boredom and loneliness would set in just like before. She held back another sigh and seriously contemplated, once again, about counting all the straws as she stared down the plastic bucket.

But then the door suddenly swung open and Austin's breathless face was in the doorway.

This boy was constantly startling her, wasn't he?

Her eyebrows furrowed as she regarded him for a moment. "Austin?" she called out, worried and confused. "Are you... is everything okay?"

He caught his breath and shot her a sheepish smile. "I forgot to ask for your name," he admitted, cheeks slightly coloring.

She laughed incredulously and shook her head at him. "And you _ran_ all the way back here just to ask me?"

He rolled his eyes and grinned at her. "Well, 'Cute Brunette Who Works at Bubble Planet' doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, you know," he pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

Ally blushed and rolled her eyes at the compliment. "It's Ally," she answered, unable to stop the grin from lighting up her face.

"Ally," he repeated with a firm nod, and the look on his face suggested that he liked the way it sounded as it rolled off his tongue. He rolled his eyes and his hand flew to his pocket, grabbing his phone again. "Well, see ya around, Ally! Gotta go!" he said with an impish wink, his words coming out in a frantic rush.

Her laughter echoed through the empty store and he grinned at the sound before closing the door and running off again.

* * *

The flirty blond kept his word, and just a few days later, Ally saw Austin through the window and smiled as he opened the door and sauntered up to the counter, an easy-going grin gracing his handsome features.

She looked at him bemusedly but before she could open her mouth to greet him, he slammed his palms onto the counter and leaned in toward her conspiratorially. She was quickly taken back to their first meeting but had to shake it off because soon enough, he started talking.

"So, Ally, what can you tell me about this shaved ice stuff?" he asked curiously, keeping his voice low, peering at her intently.

She blinked, startled by the seemingly random question. "Um, I'm not entirely sure," she admitted. "I haven't gotten a chance to try it yet, so I have no idea what it's all about." A sly grin appeared on his features and she raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Why?"

"Awesome." His grin widened and she had to remember how to breathe properly when she noticed the playful spark in his eyes. "You wanna find out with me sometime?"

* * *

A/N: Teresa, you better leave a review with your name or something. I wrote this shit for you.

At one point, I felt like my soul was sliding out of my butt, TROLOLOL. All for you, Teresa, all for you.


End file.
